Eleanor Friedberger @ Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 30 Oct

Eleanor Friedberger is a much better singer than she is a talker. On tracks like Nice to Be Nowhere, she shows a gift for capturing incredibly small and specific flashes of emotion, yet onstage seems to find herself lost for words as soon as the songs stop.

Fortunately she’s touring the album of her career in the form of this year’s critically acclaimed Rebound. Beginning with that record’s curtain opener My Jesus Phase, the former Fiery Furnaces member guides us through an hour-long set that swirls between the Pixies’ weirdo alt-rock, The Velvet Underground’s street poetry and much more. The Letter has slick bass and a new wave feel while the propulsive Stare at the Sun flashes back to the early days of post-punk in dingy New York night clubs.

As pleasant as Friedberger’s voice is on the sparser, more lo-fi tracks, the audience's attention seems to wander. Far better are the more upbeat and involved tracks as she spits lyrics like Patti Smith, showing off an eye for the surreal on Are We Good?

In a rare moment of specificity she tells the audience: "I spent my 28th birthday cycling from Glasgow to Edinburgh," but most often she seems content to let her music speak for itself, whether that be the downbeat but gorgeous In Between Stars or the winding REM-like Everything.

Critics have tended to focus on Rebound as being Friedberger’s psychedelic record but in truth there is little more than some guitar echo to define it as such. Instead it’s packed with brilliant tracks, like the bouncing Make Me a Song with its catchy 'I could love you more' chorus.

Tonight’s Sneaky Pete’s set is not without its flaws but there’s a whole lot to love about Eleanor Friedberger.